MitoSense and University of Pittsburgh Sign MOU to Explore Mitochondrial Research for Space Biomedicine and Long COVID

Collaboration will evaluate mitochondrial and microRNA biomarkers, multi-omics analysis, and research tools relevant to astronaut health, deep-space travel, and post-viral disease

PLYMOUTH, Mass., July 13, 2026 – MitoSense , Inc., a biotechnology company focused on mitochondrial health and mitochondrial organelle transplantation technologies, today announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Pittsburgh to explore research opportunities at the intersection of mitochondrial biology, space biomedicine and long COVID.

The memorandum of understanding (MOU) establishes a framework for the parties to evaluate potential joint research and development activities involving mitochondrial biology, space biomedicine, multiomics systems analysis, mitochondrial and microRNA biomarker discovery, computational pipeline development, scientific exchange, publications, technical expertise, working groups and future translational programs.

The agreement comes as space medicine and postviral disease research are increasingly focused on a shared scientific question: how does the human body maintain cellular energy, immune balance and repair capacity under extreme biological stress?

The University of Pittsburgh has emerged as an important academic center for space biomedicine through its Center for Space Biomedicine, which is connected to the Trivedi Institute for Space and Global Biomedicine, the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, and Pitt’s broader space initiative. This growing area of research focuses on understanding the health risks of spaceflight, developing strategies to protect astronauts and applying insights from space biology to health challenges on Earth.

As government and commercial space programs plan for longer-duration missions, including lunar operations and future Mars exploration, protecting human biology in extreme environments has become one of the defining challenges of the new space era. Astronauts face radiation exposure, altered gravity, immune dysregulation, inflammation, oxidative stress, fatigue and metabolic strain. Each of these pressures can affect the body’s cellular energy systems.

Mitochondria, often described as the power plants of the cell, help regulate cellular energy, stress response, inflammation, immune function and tissue repair. These same biological systems are also being studied in long COVID and related postviral conditions, including conditions with overlapping features such as chronic fatigue syndrome, POTS and other forms of nervous system dysfunction, where patients may experience persistent fatigue, postexertional symptoms, cognitive dysfunction, immune abnormalities and impaired recovery.

“Mitochondria may be one of the most important biological frontiers of the 21st century,” said Van Hipp, chairman of MitoSense. “If humanity is serious about long-duration spaceflight, lunar operations and future Mars missions, we have to understand how human cells generate energy, respond to stress and recover from injury. That same science may also help explain why millions of people affected by long COVID and other postviral conditions struggle with fatigue, brain fog and impaired recovery. This MOU gives MitoSense and the University of Pittsburgh a framework to explore research that could matter not only for astronauts, but for patients here on Earth.”

Afshin Beheshti, director of the Center for Space Biomedicine at the University of Pittsburgh and associate director of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, is expected to play a key scientific role in evaluating potential areas of collaboration. His work includes research into the biological effects of spaceflight on human health, including mitochondrial regulation, microRNAs, multiomics and translational approaches that may help inform future tools for monitoring human health in extreme environments.

“Spaceflight offers a unique window into how the human body responds to extreme biological stress,” Beheshti said. “By studying mitochondrial biology, microRNAs and multiomics signatures across spaceflight and Earth-based disease states such as long COVID, we may be able to identify shared mechanisms of injury, adaptation and recovery. This type of research may help generate biomarkers and analytical tools that inform both astronaut health and the study of complex disease states on Earth.”

The potential public-health significance is substantial. The same cellular systems that may influence whether humans can withstand long-duration spaceflight may also help scientists better understand why some people struggle to recover after viral illness, neurological injury, toxic exposure or inflammatory stress.

Under the MOU, MitoSense and the University of Pittsburgh may explore joint research and development projects, biomarker discovery, computational analysis, scientific working groups, publications, training opportunities and other mutually agreed activities. Specific projects, responsibilities, funding, intellectual property rights and commercialization terms would be addressed in definitive agreements before any individual program begins.

The MOU has a three-year term and reflects both parties’ intent to explore collaborative programs in areas of mutual scientific and translational interest.

About MitoSense

MitoSense, Inc. is a biotechnology company focused on mitochondrial health and mitochondrial organelle transplantation technologies. The company is developing platforms intended to study and address mitochondrial dysfunction across high-impact translational applications, including neurodegenerative disease, post-viral syndromes, longevity, anti-aging research, and other conditions where impaired cellular energy may play an important role. MitoSense is also building a growing network of scientific, clinical, patient-advocacy, and translational relationships, including collaborations and engagements with James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) through Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs), Greenwood Genetic Center, and Hop On a Cure. These relationships support MitoSense’s strategy of advancing mitochondrial science through disciplined research partnerships, patient- centered insight, and real-world evidence generation, focused on specific clinical, longevity, or anti aging outcomes in the future.

About the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences

Pitt Health Sciences is one of the most comprehensive clusters of health sciences schools in the country, boasting schools of medicine, dental medicine, health and rehabilitation sciences, nursing, pharmacy and public health. The health sciences are a critical part of the epicenter of one of the largest and most prestigious academic and medical research hubs in the nation, comprising six health sciences schools and UPMC–a $30 billion health care provider and insurer. Given the Pitt Health Sciences schools’ close physical proximity to each other and their commitment to collaboration, there is incredible potential for interdisciplinary education and research, as well as integration across the spectrum of research disciplines, from basic to applied research.